Genesis overrated?

the frog was a prince, the prince was a brick, the brick was an egg, the egg was a bird


(Fly away you sweet little thing, they're hard on your tail)

sarge wrote:  Secondly, and feel free to offer a different thought on this, I find Gabriel's voice to be almost...cringeworthy. Sorry, but it's really unpleasant to listen to.

I agree. It's not even a matter of if they're bad or not. They just seem overrated in comparison to other bands. Sure, they were influential, but that's all they seem to have over a lot of superior bands. 

Horses for courses.

You're not missing anything, you just don't like them. Don't listen to them.

Seems their musical ideas just don't appeal to you. Try to look at the band from a different point of view; maybe from the point of view of technical skills? I, for one, have a hard time listening through Yes's albums issued before Fragile and after Relayer (with some notable exceptions), but I do appreciate their abilities. For instance, under every layer of Yes's impalpable chord progressions there's Squire bass saving the day.

 Every band has a way to join their "musical hooks" together - Gilmour does guitar noodling, Yes drums out chord progressions by the dozen, King  Crimson makes your ears bleed and Roger Waters plays the G major chord (I mean seriously, there's a G chord in almost every of his songs). Genesis consists of 5 at least moderately skilled guys. Unlike many other bands, all Genesis' members are more or less at the same level technically. The thing is that everyone does their part instead of letting one or the other shine from time to time. Perhaps  that sort of music-making does not appeal to you, perhaps you'd prefer a grand parade of technical mastery instead of mutual leveling? I'm not saying that to offend you - Dream Theater employs that good kind of showing off (that's why I don't really like them - they pay too much attention to being good and often overlook making awe-striking music).

As for Gabriel's voice, I really cannot persuade you - I love his hoarse voice, he's go a decent range and the ability to both scream persuasively and whisper charmingly. Plus he's does not sound generic. That does it for me. On the other hand I can't stand each and every generic exerting "rockstar" voice like Ray Wilson or Tony Banks' vocalists; I can barely stand Mark Bonilla. And so on... so that's definitely a matter of sheer taste.

Hope you find something interesting in Genesis.

sarge wrote: Snow Dog wrote: Don't listen to them if you don't like. That's what I do with bands i don't like.   I know, but for the sake of keeping my sanity (it's actually getting to that point), I feel as though I need to find out what people actually get out of listening to Genesis - particularly after seeing their immense popularity on this site cause, as demonstrated by my reasons, I sure aint feeling the same way.

Somewhere along the line, this all may be your preference. why? Because how could you not get excited over the center section of "In the Cage"? The fantastic keyboard line played by Tony Banks, as Rutherford and Collins follow playing accents off the time signature. Trick Of the Tail, Selling England By the Pound, and parts of Nursery Crime all represent a style in the writing department that differs from Crimson, ELP, Jethro Tull and probably others listed as the big 5 or 6. I believe that style is folk. The 12 string guitar, the classical guitar, and the steel string guitat are all part of an original sound that the band created. Phil Collins uses a ride cymbal on Los Endos off the "Seconds Out" album. There is an abundance of high-hat on "Cinema Show".

 

Keep in mind that in Italy,....back during the early days of Goblin, PFM, and others,....Genesis were held in the highest regard due to their originality. They were popular in Italy and some Italian Prog bands were highly influenced by them along with many of the English bands and.....even a few German bands. Regarding their history, they had a major impact on European musicians during the 70's. Why? I don't know for that's something you will have to figure out on your own. It's the importance of the band mainly and historically in those particular circles. No doubt. This is probably something you do not see in history. Nevertheless, this is the most important fact about Genesis. The time period of their existence and their impact. Yes, Jethro Tull, and King Crimson are talked about in the same breath really!  In America during the early 70's, they were somewhat thought to be an English Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young and it was all due to the folk side of their writing. All except for the Lamb which displayed more electric.

Two things -
1) I've never noticed an issue with Collins' drumming. His playing on Genesis Live is one of the best in prog.
2) "Genesis facilitated the rise of disco" - that is complete tosh.

For me it was the older Genesis that really turned me into a zombie prog pod person although I do have to also include most of the usual suspects. For me when it comes to music I have found that some stuff is love at first listen, some stuff you just have to pass on, and some stuff it's a matter of timing.  So if you've actually bought some, I wouldn't recommend getting rid of it.  Give it a rest and try it again later.  With the diversity of music we have on this site you can be guaranteed that nothing is for everyone.


Edited by Slartibartfast - January 05 2011 at 07:41

And not everyone likes chocolate ice-cream either. Personally, I think they're missing an important gene. Maybe that's what happened to you?

Just kidding.

Music like any other art form is a deeply personal thing. I'm a huge ELP fan but I don't get IQ or Marillion. But that's just me. And that will get some to thinking I'm missing a gene. That doesn't bug me. All that matters is that when I put on most ELP tunes (yes there are exceptions to be sure) I enjoy and appreciate the music.

So, don't like Genesis (Gabriel or otherwise) no worry. listen to what you do like and screw the rest.

I don't even know what to say to you